Over the last few years, the world has digitized so rapidly and drastically that it becomes a little hard to believe. Digital interaction and experience have become a part of our daily routine. This raises the importance of user experience to a whole new level. User Interface is associated with us practically everywhere. Be it on our mobiles, websites, car displays, thermostat control in our offices/homes and the list goes on and on. But what differentiates a quality UI from an ordinary UI ? Let’s find out the answer by discovering 5 key elements of an excellent UI.

1. The Design Must Be Simple:

As simple as it sounds. Simplicity has its own charm and it never fails to impress. Don’t clutter a page with unnecessary elements and options. Furthermore, the target is to provide only essential elements and options which are required by the user to complete their task. Rest of the elements can take a step back. A lot of designers push in a bunch of “can be neglected” elements in the page design which defeats the purpose of providing best user experience.

This Toader Photography website is a brilliant example of simple user interface.

Pic Courtesy: toaderphotography.com

2. Users Must Sense Familiarity:

When a user lands on a web page, at no point in time he should think “What to do now?” Neither he should be greeted with something unexpected. The interface must be intuitive in nature so that users easily understand it. This will create a sense of familiarity in a user’s mind. A great example – A lot of restaurants and food joints are using a food article icon (like a burger or a pizza slice) on their app and websites. This instantly tells the user where the menu is?

In another example, see how Zappos has placed all the familiar tabs at familiar positions.

Pic Courtesy: zappos.com

3. The Messaging Must Be Clear:

The first point emphasized on being simple and ditching the complexity. But, it’s equally important to be clear and concise. Save your users from the trouble of reading lengthy messages, labels, and descriptions. It will really annoy a user and would only lead him towards the “X” button. Cut to the chase and be point blank. Users like it. Moreover, it’s all about providing a delightful user experience and stretched messaging is a roadblock in this process.

4. Be consistent:

Never loose on consistency throughout the user experience journey. People like consistent interfaces as it smoothens the entire experience. They develop usage patterns and later rely on these patterns which further improves their experience. The process is simple. They learn about your design pattern and want to use the learning in their future interactions. An inconsistent interface will make it hard for users to understand how things really work on your website or app.

5. Create A Visual Hierarchy:

This is a very critical element in terms of user interfaces. However, most of the designers overlook it. It is quintessential to focus on the important elements. Never try to make every element look important. It clutters everything and the user gets confused in taking any action. A proper distinction between colors, shapes, and placement of elements must be maintained to guide the user towards the action. If the visual hierarchy is properly implemented in a design, it kills complexity and helps users in performing their tasks more efficiently and swiftly.

Look how Decathlon has highlighted the “Season Clearance” tab by coloring it bright red. This instantly grabs attention and leads the user towards the action.

Pic Courtesy: decathlon.com

Times have changed and so have the users. They demand a satisfying user experience more than just a transaction. Therefore, designers should dig in deep and try to understand each and every aspect related to user experience to create a user-friendly interface. Talk to our experts and fulfill your design requirements.

admin